Random drug and alcohol testing must be part of an organisation’s wider drug and alcohol policy. Teresa Russell talks to two employers and a union and discovers that the introduction and implementation of random testing requires a large amount of careful thought, planning and communication
Random drug and alcohol testing must be part of an organisation’s wider drug and alcohol policy. Teresa Russell talks to two employers and a union and discovers that the introduction and implementation of random testing requires a large amount of careful thought, planning and communication
Fictitious Mike and Dave have been friends since high school. They play football for their local club and have just come back from a team holiday in Bali. While they were there, they had a few big nights out, getting very drunk twice and sharing a joint on their first night. Mike is an underground miner for a major resources company and Dave is a signaller on the train system in western NSW. Both are members of a union. As a result of their holiday activities, Dave might lose his job in three weeks time. Mike will not. The difference resides in each employer’s drug and alcohol testing policies.
Fictitious Mike works at the very real Endeavor Mine, 46km north of Cobar in country NSW. Fictitious Dave works for the equally real RailCorp, formed after the merger of State Rail Authority of NSW (StateRail) and the metropolitan functions of the Rail Infrastructure Corporation (RIC).
Drug and alcohol use in the workplace is covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000, requiring employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all employees at work. Employers are required to take all practical measures to protect workers in relation to health, safety and welfare. Under the Act, employees are also required to take reasonable care for the health and safety of others. RailCorp is also governed by additional legislation, drafted by the Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator. Endeavor Mine also operates under additional mine safety legislation.
Both organisations have implemented random drug and alcohol testing in the workplace, but use different testing procedures and methods.
RailCorp
Employing 15,000 staff across NSW, RailCorp has had alcohol testing in place (using the same RBT equipment as the police) for about 15 years. Testing was always done after a safety incident occurred, before commencing safety work or in the case of ‘reasonable cause’, when a person’s behaviour or appearance led their supervisor to believe they were alcohol affected. There was also a pre-existing policy of having a drug and alcohol-free workplace.
John Dawes, project manager health standards for RailCorp says the recent regulation and legislation had been long anticipated. “The legislation means employees can now be tested after they have started work as well, and we can also do random urine testing for drugs,” he explains. The corporation employs nine people to perform random breath testing (this number is unchanged by the new legislation) and it has just completed the tender process for sub-contracting the drug sampling and testing to a private laboratory.
Dawes says the procedures for testing evolved after meetings with the Labor Council of NSW – a process he describes as “extensive consultation”. He adds: ”The discussions were robust, but workable.”
Allan Barden, assistant secretary, locomotive division of the Rail, Train and Bus Union (RTBU) sees things differently. “There should have been extensive consultation with the union first. They shouldn’t have come to us with a list of ‘here’s what we want to do’,” he argues.
Barden has two main issues with the new testing. “There’s no evidence that drugs or alcohol have ever been a factor in a safety incident in the past 15 years. Fatigue was a contributing factor in the Beresfield accident, but RailCorp is doing nothing about addressing the problem of fatigue,” he says.
The other problem lies with our fictitious Dave. Drug testing will be conducted via a urine test, which includes screening for opiates and THC (marijuana). THC stays in fat cells in the body for a month after use, so can be detected in urine during that time. “They should be testing for impairment and shouldn’t be impinging on people’s lifestyles,” Barden says. Impairment can also be related to other factors including fatigue, work and home stresses, or an individual’s total health.
Mark Morey, research director at the Labor Council of NSW, participated in the negotiations. He highlights some other issues. “An employee can be prosecuted under the Rail Safety Act for having an alcohol reading of 0.02 to 0.05, but they can then legally drive home,” he says. He believes a clear distinction should be drawn between a positive result and impairment. “If it’s a safety issue, they should be testing for impairment, like the police do. (Tasks include touching your nose, walking along a straight line and so on). If it’s a health issue, there should be treatment or lesser penalties, rather than dismissal,” he asserts. Morey would like to see self-testing before signing on, giving the person an opportunity to go home if they are unfit for duty.
Dawes, however, believes that RailCorp is working on all fronts towards risk mitigation. “Road industry research clearly shows that drugs and alcohol play a part in accidents. We have no reason to believe that our workforce is any different to the wider community, therefore there is a risk of drug and alcohol abuse among our employees too,” he says.
Drivers of heavy transport have a 0.02 limit, according to Dawes. RailCorp is just responding to the legislation, which actually states that the way to detect marijuana usage will be via urine testing.
“There is no prescriptive process in our policy if a person returns a positive result,” he says. Each case is investigated. Of the 23 people who have tested positive since RBT started in October 2003, six employees and five contractors have been dismissed. The remaining cases are still under investigation.
“We have over 300 stations and many other permanent and temporary work sites where people start their shifts. Providing self-testing wouldn’t just be logistically difficult – I don’t think it does anything to discourage alcohol use. We want our staff to come to work fit for duty. If they self-test and go home, giving no notice before a shift starts, it becomes both a service delivery and a safety issue,” says Dawes. Members of the drug evaluation unit do perform impairment testing for ‘reasonable cause’, just as the police do. Failure results in a urine sample being taken for analysis at a hospital.
Fictitious Dave is lucky. RailCorp has just announced that no employee will be terminated in the first six months of drug testing, but counselling and disciplinary measures will be undertaken.
Endeavor Mine
CBH Resources took over the Pasminco-Elura Mine and renamed it Endeavor Mine in September 2003. The mine’s drug and alcohol policy was drafted around three years ago with workforce, management and medical input. Karen Prior, Endeavor’s occupational health, safety and environment superintendent says there are no issues within the 250-strong workforce, because drug and alcohol testing in mining is standard and the policy has been in place for years.
“In fact, our people think we are a bit softer on them, because we do saliva testing for drugs, rather than urine testing,” she says. Saliva testing only shows up marijuana usage in the last four to five hours, but 24 hours for all the other drugs, including amphetamines (speed), opiates (heroin, morphine, codeine), cocaine, benzodiazepine (valium and so on) and THC (cannabis). The advantages of saliva over urine testing are the speed of obtaining results (10 minutes versus several days) and it is less invasive.
“You have a right to be who you want to be on your days off, but you also have a responsibility to yourself and those you work with, not to be impaired when you go to work,” says Prior.
The company currently employs a manual system to determine which five people will be randomly tested each shift, but will be upgrading to a computer generated random selection soon. At sign on, everyone chooses a lucky dip ball. Most are green. Whoever selects the five pink balls get breath tested for alcohol and one gets drug tested as well.
Anyone who tests positive is retested immediately. A second positive test will result in the person being sent offsite. Samples are then sent to a laboratory. Results come back in two days (due to the remoteness of the mine). Employees are automatically tested on return to work. Endeavor provides employees the opportunity to self-test for alcohol and drugs before sign-on.
The consequence of a positive alcohol test is referral to professional counselling through the organisation’s EAP. Three positive tests in a 12-month period will result in dismissal. It’s the same process for drugs, except it’s ‘two strikes and you’re out’.
Experience gained
When it comes to implementing and running a drug and alcohol testing policy, Prior says it’s important to get all interested parties to the table, all the issues out for discussion and to have a mediator. “Unless you get workforce buy-in, no system you introduce will work,” she says.
Dawes adds that it’s important to do your homework and allow at least three months lead time for education before you bring in new testing. RailCorp had briefing sessions for union delegates, supervisors and frontline staff, printed notices on pay advice slips to educate about the policy change, sent out posters and brochures across the organisation, made a briefing video and manned a hotline two hours per day, receiving three to four calls daily, mostly about prescription medication. Despite all this time, money and education, some staff complained they didn’t get adequate warning. Dawes concludes, “No matter how much communication you do, it may never be enough!”
